Seize the Good Eats

Fall Roasting: Chicken

Back to my roasting kick, this week is one of the more complicated things to roast: chicken. It is still very simple but not as easy as tomatoes. As someone who wants to begin her small business as soon as possible – stay tuned – being frugal has become a forefront in my life after graduation. And also developing this blog. I know my baby needs work. Every day, I think about what I could be doing to make her better. One day, she’ll be great.

Anywho, whole chickens and turkeys can be an amazing asset to a food-frugal kitchen. They require a bit of up upfront cost – what you may not be used to with the package deli meat – and work. But the results are amazingly worth it. Both taste and wallet wise.

This was my first time ever working with a whole chicken like that. I had seen them and touched them, whole turkeys too. But actually having to go inside to clean and wash it out, never done that. It was such an odd thing in my mind at the time! It really cracked me up.

I used a recipe from the Pioneer Woman, Aee, the Food Network star. She and I related on this cracking up with whole chicken thing. I hope she doesn’t mind I changed a few ingredients. Because of my recent love affair with sage, I decided to add that and some garlic instead of her suggested lemon zest. Yes – sage and her suggested, rosemary. So much flavor!! I didn’t forget a bit of lemon juice though.

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken – rinsed and dried

3/4 cups butter – softened

1 tablespoon sage

2 garlic cloves – minced

1 teaspoon lemon juice

6 sprigs rosemary

Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Remove leaves from 4 of the rosemary sprigs. Chop finely, as well as sage. In a bowl, combine softened butter, rosemary, sage, minced garlic cloves and salt and pepper to taste. Line a baking sheet with foil and lay the patted chicken down – breast side up. Smear the butter all over the bird – under the skin and inside the cavity. Sprinkle the lemon juice all over the chicken. Place rosemary leaves inside the cavity. Place the chicken into the oven and roast for 1:15 or until cooked – the skin should be golden brown and juices sizzling. Carve it up and enjoy!

The recipe caused the skin to be crunchy and the chicken to remain moist and delicious. Thank you, Aee. The garlic and sage added a great flavor to the chicken. And really, who would not be interested in a butter drenched chicken, unless you’re a vegetarian. This chicken sustained me for three weeks using it on salads and sandwiches, even pasta dishes. Frugal, you see!

This may not be the healthiest thing on the planet but hey, this chick was well worth it on all other fronts.